Tseng and Elena's Wedding
by Zeng Li
Summary: Tseng has survived his brush with Sephiroth, and as FF7's story comes to an end, Tseng & Elena finally tie the knot.


_Tseng & Elena's Wedding  
By: Zeng Li_

The city of Junon could only sit and watch. Over the horizon of a surrounding mountain range, an intruder filled the sky. Darkness loomed in the distant sky over a fiery red meteor as it hovered over the evil city beyond the mountains.

Plasma arcs and tornadoes ripped into the metallic structure of the largest city on the planet. Debris swirled around the base of the hovering monstrosity as Junon watched, helpless to save the technological marvel.

"Midgar..." Tseng slouched in his wheelchair. The top floor balcony outside his hospital room was the spot from which he witnessed the devastation on the horizon.

Thunderous roars echoed through the valley as Meteor and its victim battled one another, the celestial invader clearly being the victor.

To his side stood Elena. The two had been reunited after the Turks abandoned ShinRa and the city of Midgar. Presently, she held his hand, idly rubbing his fingers as they watched the horror that was changing the world around them.

The darkness over Meteor obscured more of the sky, creeping its shadow closer to Junon.

"It's romantic, isn't it?" Elena said softly, in an eerie overtone.

"Hmm?" Tseng questioned the out of place comment.

A crash echoed through the sky as the sound of Midgar's pain reached them.

"I mean…this could be our last night together…" Elena added.

Tseng reached an arm around Elena's waist. She knelt down, and his moved his hand up to touch her golden hair. "If it has to be the last night, I wouldn't have it any other way." His hand so gently caressed her, from her head to her neck and shoulders…

They both watched the crimson enemy as the air rumbled around them. So many miles away, and the death of the metropolis could still be heard. The pain stabbed at hearts world-wide.

"I had many dreams while I was asleep," Tseng referred to his 8 days in a coma where he recovered from a near-fatal wound inflicted by Sephiroth. "Aeris was in one of them. I didn't understand it, but she kept eluding me."

Elena didn't exactly want to hear about the Ancient, but since Aeris was dead, she could at least have Tseng all to herself.

"I know I made the mistake of letting her go after we captured her, but in my dream, I kept trying to save her. But I think I couldn't save her because she was the one trying to save me."

Elena looked bewildered. But no sooner had Tseng said it than a whisp of spirit energy flowed from the land near Junon's mountain barrier. It seemed so out of place…tranquil and gentle. Definitely not from the enemy in the sky that lashed at the earth below.

It wasn't the last sighting either. Gently curling and drifting waves radiated softly from the green earth all around, disappearing off in the horizon. All seemed to be heading towards the menace.

Soon, the ground was so covered with the soft lights that it brightened the land with a glow like the planet had never seen.

"The Lifestream…" Tseng said quietly, his hand touching his abdomen, covering the area that Sephiroth's sword had pierced. A different angle of entry, and Tseng would have been part of the Lifestream, and he knew it.

Elena touched his shoulders, probably thinking the same thing.

By now, there was a barrier made of white light separating Midgar and the Meteor. The Lifestream continued to feed efforts into reinforcing its defense shield. The evil above penetrated the Lifestream, breaking the hearts of every on-looker.

"Holy…" Tseng said.

Elena looked at him, unsure if he'd simply cut off an attempt at cussing.

"Holy…!" Tseng said again, this time more like a realization. "It _is_ her!"

"What are you talking about?" Elena seemed frightened and curious.

"I knew that if ShinRa kept Aeris, something terrible would happen. I'm sure I would have deserved the fate of death for letting her go, especially that her life ended by the evil that brought Meteor to this planet. But yet, there was one thing that I wonder if ShinRa overlooked about her. The White Materia… The orb that not only she understood the function of. I know Aeris…she probably realized its power as she was slain. The fact that we are seeing Holy…means one thing…"

Elena looked back at the horizon. Meteor looked different. It was faltering at the appearance of the light shielding Midgar.

"We may just pay for our sins of trying to stop the saviors of this world. Having let Aeris go, even if it meant that she fulfilled her destiny, may not even be enough to grant me redemption. But I think we are seeing the end result. Holy is here…because Sephiroth has been vanquished."

Elena swallowed hard, her heart rushing a cold wave through her body. She thought back to the last time she'd seen Cloud Strife. Reno and Rude along side her, they fought the enemy in the underground of Midgar as a matter of Turk pride. The result had been humiliating. The Turks' defeat was a heavy blow, disbanding them in disgrace rather than honor.

Meteor proved to be no match for the light. Thanks to the unseen efforts of a few, the gruesome foe disappeared from the sky.

Overwhelmed by the incredible conquering off odds, Tseng bolted up from his wheelchair to meet the joyous embrace of the equally excited Elena. A warm breeze blew his hair behind him as he bent forward to kiss her lips.

The pain that shot through Tseng's healing body went ignored as he embraced Elena in one of the first intense shows of emotion he'd given in a long time.

Elena shed a tear that summed up so much in one salty drop. Happiness. Regret. Universal love from a few to the whole wide world.

Tseng faltered, his strength waning. Elena felt him struggle and held him the best she could even as he sat back down in the wheelchair he'd been using to get around in. His hand fell from her shoulder to his own midsection as the dry stinging sensation he felt told him he'd torn a few stitches.

"That was a stupid thing to do…" Tseng groaned.

Elena softly held his hand. "Oh honey..." she sighed as he opened his dark Wutan eyes to her.

Not breaking his gaze, he to her hands in his. Her green eyes shifted, speaking a silent inquiry back to him.

"Elena...?" he said with all the determination in the world. "Will you marry me?"

She gasped and fell to her knees beside his chair. Tseng turned his head and looked out to the mountainous horizon.

"Y--yes, sir..." she said without much conscious thought.

Tseng let her hand go, and he ran his finger tips down her cheek. "Please, Elena. Don't call me 'sir'." He smiled warmly at her.

Tears spontaneously ran from her eyes as she threw herself at him, arms encircling his body.

"Did Sephiroth impale him through the head instead of the gut?" Reno folded his arms and shot his colleagues a sideways glance.

Reeve put down the PHS. "Don't be jealous, Reno."

"Who says I'm jealous? There was never anything serious between me and her. It's Rude here who should be jealous."

Rude just scratched the back of his bald head. Deep inside, he knew it had only been his shyness and insecurity that had kept him from pursuing her.

"And for God's sake, Reno..." said Reeve. "This is a _wedding_. Try to dress nice for a change."

"Ha! I'll dress how ever I damn well please!"

Reeve picked up the PHS and looked at Rude. "I wonder if it's too late to get Tseng to uninvite him."

Reno snatched the PHS from Reeve's hand. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'm not always a slob, you know." He placed the PHS out of immediate reach and walked away.

"Fifty gil says he won't comb his hair," said Reeve once Reno had left the room.

"And fifty more says he won't wear a tie," Rude added.

Reeve slid his black gloves on once all the other electronics connecting him to Cait Sith were in place. He'd added a 2-inch monitor to the back of the left glove so he could see through the mog's eyes at all times. "Hold this," he said to the robot, placing a velvet pillow in its puffy hands then adding the ring-cases on top. "There. Tseng'll be the first man to have a toy moggle as the ring-bearer at a wedding." He made sure both the mog's and the cat's bow ties were straight before heading off to the chapel in Upper Junon.

He and Cait Sith parted ways once they were at the church. The first familiar face Reeve saw was Reno. The boy wasn't too hard to miss, his messy red hair glowing like a beacon. He approached his colleague from behind.

Reno turned around, grinning ear to ear. "Well?" he asked. "Win any bets?"

Reeve looked the young man up and down. "My God, Reno! You buttoned your shirt!"

"And, I'm wearing a tie!"

"Congratulations, Reno. Six years as a Turk, and you've finally figured out the uniform."

"Yeah, well don't get used to it. Where's Rude? I have to make sure he's not hitting the booze too early. If he drinks too much, he'll be too busy puking in the mens' room, and he'll miss the wedding."

Other guests began filing in, including Cloud Strife, Shera and Cid Highwind, Tifa Lockhart, and Mayor Domino. All said and done, the chapel was a full house.

Tseng and Elena approached each other from opposite sides of the entrance hall way, seeing the other for the first time in 24 hours. She smiled nervously at him, pain in her eyes as she saw him hobble towards her using a forearm crutch to lean on.

Tseng placed the walking prop against the wall as he took her hand. "Will you be all right?" Elena asked quietly, holding his hand tightly.

"The doctors don't even want me standing much yet, but I don't want anyone to see me weak."

Elena swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded in understanding.

"Hold me tight," Tseng said, squeezing her hand as they took their first steps down the aisle.

Tseng and Elena walked the aisle to the altar. Elena wore a beautiful white dress and Tseng a tux with a long-tailed coat, his hair in a traditional Wutanese hair knot.

Tseng couldn't look at the smiling faces of his friends and former enemies. Doing so, he knew, would only make him nervous. He was on his feet a good week or two earlier than his doctors advised, and he hoped no one would notice that he relied a bit on Elena to steady himself.

Once at the altar, Tseng was mentally prepared for Reno to chime in with some of his own brand of ill-timed charades. The nervous anticipation was nearly a distraction in itself.

Elena held his hands as they stood face to face. His fingers were cold, she noticed. And trembling ever so slightly.

The side of his lips curled subtly, a surpressed smile. She held nothing back and beamed a smile back at him.

The minister began the age-old drawl of lawful matrimony, man and woman taking their vows. Cait Sith stood near and presented the rings; matching his and hers bands that forever linked them.

Then came the line Elena waited all day to hear. "You may kiss the bride."

She nearly fainted as he pressed his lips to hers in their first kiss as husband and wife.

After the formal ceremony, everyone gathered for the reception. Reno ran as far away as he could as Elena did the obligatory tossing of the bouquet. The flowers landed cleanly in Tifa's hands. She held the pretty arrangement then looked over at Cloud who's eyes shifted suddenly into timidity.

Reeve slid up to the new couple's table as the band began the music. "May I?" he held a hand out to Elena.

Tseng waved Reeve on, his energy clearly fading. "Go ahead. Though I used to be quite a dancer, I must sit today out."

"Is everything okay?" Reeve asked.

Tseng's hand rubbed his midriff over the scar. "I'll be fine," he said neutrally.

Elena kissed her husband before she and Reeve moved out to the dance floor. "Reeve, I never knew you could dance."

Reeve was very warm and compassionate. "Some people think it's a crime that I deny women my charm. Very few have ever known me so well."

As they danced, Elena would look back at Tseng, an ache in her heart for how he seemed so isolated at his own special day.

"Yo, Reeve!" a voice came in as the melody changed. "Mind if I cut in?"

"Reno?" Reeve backed off. "You can dance?"

"Don't let my sloppy nature confuse you. Stand aside." Reno took Elena by the hands, the female Turk got a bit entranced she looked up at his angled features. His crimson hair was pulled back, tacked down a bit by gel to tone down its usual obnoxious unruliness. His sunglasses were tucked in his suit pocket for probably the first time in their life.

Reno proved himself to be quite a dancer. "This brings back memories," said Elena, her head against his chest.

Reno thought back several years, too. For a few weeks, the two of them had been an item, but upon his acceptance into the elite Turks organization, their relationship ended before it really got off the ground.

"It's okay," he told her. "You and Tseng were meant for each other."

Elena inhaled the fresh smell of his cologne, glad that she'd always known both sides of Reno. His needy, boyish charm... but also his unyielding, aggressive side that made him excel as a Turk.

He held her as the music played, almost as if on Tseng's behalf. She was happy, he told himself, not that he ever wanted to be one to get married himself.

It seemed just weeks ago, she was crushed. The man she loved was dying, another victim of the greatest warrior to ever live. Reno had held her then, too. She seemed so fragile in his arms back then, even though his own heart had been dealt a rather sobering blow as well.

The song ended, and Reno slowly let her go. "Thanks, Elena," he said, a bit unlike his characteristic self.

"I'm sorry, Reno…" Elena said quietly, feeling the void that reopened in the man's heart.

Reno nodded. "Well…better get back to being the life of the party, y'know? Before people wonder if there's something wrong with me."

Elena blinked, and her eye was wet with a glassy tear. "You'll never change…" she smiled.

Reno turned and winked as he walked away. He slid his sunglasses up onto his forehead while behind him, someone else took on Elena as a partner for the next dance.

Reno wandered around a bit then sat down with his crew at a table near a few old foes. "Palmer, yer makin' a right pig of yerself!" said Cid, sitting across from the table as the older man.

"Whose wedding is this again?" the fat man asked, shoveling about three things into his mouth at once.

"Rude and Reno finally decided to tie the knot," Cloud said to him with a crooked grin. He thumbed to the pair sitting at the adjacent table, and Reno's face immediately turned red in anger.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Palmer began to dance around. "Reno and Rude are gay! Reno and Rude are gay!"

Rude slowly rose to his feet, balling up both fists. He towered ominously over the blond man from Avalanche. But meanwhile, Reno leaned across the table and slugged Palmer with one punch that knocked the fat man out cold.

"Shut the hell up, Lard-for-Brains!" Reno sneered.

Without a word, Rude sat back down and glared at Cloud. Tifa giggled quietly while the blond displayed a goofy grin.

"Laugh now, Strife, but we're Turks, dammit!" said Reno.

Cloud continued grinning. "Yeah, I know… Precisely why we mopped the floor with your asses on more than one occasion."

Avalanche enjoyed the moment, but the gears of Reno's mind continued to turn despite his promise to himself to tone it down and behave for an evening.

The evening wore on, and the music had gone away. The softened faces of friends and former-enemies alike had said good bye. The moon rose over the landscape of the sea, its light reflecting off of the tiny waves rippling with the breeze.

Two lovers overlooked the sea upon the breezy loft of Junon's military landing strip. Just weeks before, the seascape was host to a paramount battle between Sapphire Weapon and the soldiers of Junon. The gun fire and Mako cannon blasts were just a silent memory. Tonight had to be the quietest night Junon had seen in a long time.

"I'm a broken man, Elena," Tseng said into the night sky, the hand opposite his bride once again gripping the crutch he needed to steady himself.

She held an arm around his waist as the soft breeze washed ashore. "No. You're a miracle," she corrected him.

"I had a dream while I walked the line between this life and death."

"Yes…I know…" she said, holding him firmly. He'd already told her about his vision while lying in a coma. It was the most lonely of visions, full of emptiness, isolation, and uncertainty.

"I think I've been too much of a man to tell you how the vision ended," he said after a pause.

Elena was nervous. She'd never seen him bare his soul like this. She didn't even think he was capable of such a thing, but he had changed a lot since his brush with death.

"As I was swallowed by despair, I reached across worlds." The moon reflected in his narrow eyes, two new gateways that were opening up to the newness of the world they lived in. "In my final breaths, I found a lifeline. I think I'm here because I reached for the hand that was coming down to me from the heavens. Part of me was too tired to grab it. But the other part of me wondered if it was you." He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I know I had unfinished business with you, and at the time I thought it was taking you out for dinner."

Elena awaited further details, her heart aching over way his heart was softening to her.

Tseng refocused his far-off gaze. "Come on. It's getting late, and the sea can be a lonely place." He took her hand in his. The couple turned their backs on the sea and headed for town.

**THE END**

All characters and places in this story are copyrighted property of Square Co., Ltd., based on FINAL FANTASY VII and are used without permission. This original story was written by Zeng Li in 1999 and was fully revised in 2004. Honestly, it's the first fanfic I'd ever written too.


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